New Iraqi President a Hitman?

Did the man who is supposed to lead Iraq into a new democratic future participate in the cold-blooded killing of some Iraqi prisoners just weeks before the United States turned over the government to him? Apparently, it is possible.

An Australian newspaper is reporting that eyewitnesses say Iyad Allawi carried out the executions himself in late June.

"They say the prisoners - handcuffed and blindfolded - were lined up against a wall in a courtyard adjacent to the maximum-security cell block in which they were held at the Al-Amariyah security centre, in the city's south-western suburbs. They say Dr Allawi told onlookers the victims had each killed as many as 50 Iraqis and they 'deserved worse than death' . . . Iraq's Interior Minister, Falah al-Naqib, is said to have looked on and congratulated him when the job was done. Mr al-Naqib's office has issued a verbal denial."

The article is featured on the blog of Juan Cole, a University of Michigan professor of history who specializes in Middle East studies. His blog link is included in the list at the right of the screen under his name.

If it's true, any semblance of democracy that Allawi brings to Iraq will disappear quickly. Leave it to the U.S. to replace one Butcher of Baghad with another.

By the way, Juan Cole keeps close tabs on Arab newspapers. Visit his blog to stay up to date on what the Arab media is saying, a lot of which never makes it into the American press.